Fishing lure

ABSTRACT

A fishing lure for deep water fishing comprises an elongated body, having a specific gravity of not less than 10.5 nor more than 19.3, and diminishing in thickness in opposite direction of its length from a point distant from one end by five-twelths of its total length. Two generally flat surfaces that are contiguous at the point of maximum thickness and fall away beginning at that point to define the diminution in thickness of the body, form the sides of an included angle of between 164* and 170* . At one end the body is adapted to be joined to a line and at its other end it carries two single hooks freely suspended, facing in opposite directions and in overlapping relation.

United States Patent Hill [ FISHING LURE [72] Inventor: Richard L. R1,11140 E. Imperial Highway, Norwalk, Calif. 90650 [22] Filed: Aug. 10,1970 21 Appl. No.: 62,348

[52] U.S. Cl. ..43/42.45, 43/35, 43/4204 [51] Int. Cl. ..A0lk 85/00 [58]Field of Search ..43/42.04, 42.44, 42.45, 42.48, 43/35 [56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,480,580 8/1949 Hopkins ..43/42.45

1,886,116 11/1932 Nolan ..43/42.48 X

3,264,775 8/ 1966 Nahigian ..43/42.45 X

2,494,093 1/1950 Hill ..43/42.48

2,881,550 4/1959 Newkirk ..43/35 X [451 July 18, 1972 3,483,650 12/1969Weaver ..43/35 Primary Examiner-Sanuuel Koren Assistant Examiner-DanielJ. Leach Anorney-Jowler, Knobbe & Martens ABSTRACT A fishing lure fordeep water fishing comprises an elongated body, having a specificgravity of not less than 10.5 nor more than 19.3, and diminishing inthickne$ in opposite direction of its length from a point distant fromone end by five-twelths of its total length. Two generally flat surfacesthat are contiguous at the point of maximum thickness and fall awaybeginning at that point to define the diminution in thickness of thebody, form the sides of an included angle of between 164 and 170". Atone end the body is adapted to be joined to a line and at its other endit carries two single hooks freely suspended, facing in oppositedirections and in overlapping relation.

3 Clains, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JUU8I912 3,575,94

sum 1 OF 2 jga 3 f/ I? INVESTOR.

PATENTEU JUL I 8 1972 SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR. E/CHAPD L. H/LL BY POM LEE,/(/V055E 5 MAP TEA/5' 4 7- max/5K4.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Deep water fishing as a sport has long beenpopular but devices that carry the hooks to the depths where large fishare to be found have been discouragingly ineffective as a rule and havenumerous specific disadvantages. In the past heavy sinkers have beenneeded in order to troll in deep water for fish, such as salmon, andlures that were attached to lines provided with heavy sinkers wereincapable of undergoing realistic movements that would attract fish. Thewater friction on lighter lures prevents all vertical jigging action atdepths exceeding 100 feet of line. Whether in trolling or in bottomfishing the desired lure movement cannot be achieved with lighter ures.

It has generally been the custom to provide lures with hook structurescomprised of three hooks rigidly connected together and with theirbarbed tips presented outwardly from the common shank at 120 angularseparation. Treble hooks of this type have a tendency to snag readily indeep reef fishing conditions. Moreover, treble hooks have not beenavailable to hold fish such as sea bass weighing several hundred pounds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention a lure isprovided which also serves the purpose of a sinker because it has aspecific gravity of not less than 10.5 and under certain circumstancesiltgngay be desirable to provide a specific gravity as high as In orderthat it shall serve as a lure the body is elongated and its thicknessdiminishes in both directions toward the ends from a point which isdistant from one of the ends five-twelfths of the total length of thebody. This configuration enables the lure, if lifted a few feet off thebottom at about the same speed as it free falls in the water, to move ina life-like manner that will attract a fish seeking food near thebottom. At the end nearer the point of maximum thickness the lure isprovided with means for connecting it to a line. At its other end thelure loosely mounts a ring from which are suspended two single hooks ofa size presumed adequate for hooking fish of the type known or expectedto abound in the locale where the lure is to be used.

The hooks are so disposed on the ring that they suspend in overlappingrelationship and facing in opposite directions. This suspension impartsthe ability to slide over obstructions without snagging to a muchgreater extent than is possible with the rigidly connected treble hooks.When the suspended hooks are seized by a fish the closing mouth pressesupon the shanks of the two hooks and tends to move the shanks togetherand thus to thrust apart and expose the barbed tips of the hooks,thereby to enhance the likelihood that the fish will be caught andfirmly held.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a complete understanding of theinvention, reference may be had to the following detailed description tobe interpreted in the light of the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fishing lure in accordance withthe preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the fishing lure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the freely suspended hooks of thefishing lure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are elevational views showing progressively the actionof the hooks when their shanks are brought together as by the closing ofthe mouth of a fish that has seized the lure; and

FIG. 8 is an elevational view showing an alternative arrangement ofhooks.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIG.1, the reference numeral 11 designates generally the body of a fishinglure in accordance with the present invention. The body is elongated andpreferably has a specific gravity of at least 10.5 but not exceeding19.3. It will be recognized that 10.5 is the specific gravity of silverand that 19.3 is the specific gravity of gold. Between these two are anumber of semi-precious metals, and one very common and inexpensivemetal, namely, lead, which has a specific gravity of 1 1.3. It will beunderstood that either a single metal having a specific gravity withinthe specified range or an alloy of two or more metals, such as lead andtin, lead and silver or lead and gold, may be used. In order to achievespecific gravities in the upper portions of the range, substantialpercentages of precious or semi-precious metals will be required.

It will be apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2 that the body of the lure 11 hasits maximum thickness at a point nearer to one end than the other, andpreferably this point, which coincides with the section, line 3--3 inFIG. 2, is five-twelfths of the total length of the body 11 from one endthereof and accordingly is seven-twelfths of the length distant from theother end. Preferably, the body 11 has one of the surfaces which definethe diminution in its thickness flat, shown in FIG. 2 as the lowersurface 12. The upper surface then consists of two declining surfaces 13and 14, preferably generally flat so that the decrease in thickness inboth directions along the length of the body from its point of maximumthickness is uniform. It is not necessary that the planes of thesurfaces 13 and 14 meet at the point of maximum thickness in anobservable line of intersection, but throughout the major portion oftheir lengths to the ends of the body it is preferred that they besubstantially flat. As indicated in FIG. 2, the angle between thesurface 14 and an extension of the plane of the surface 13 is preferably13 1- 3. Stating this another way, the interior angle included betweenthe surfaces 13 and 14 is preferably 167 3. If the surfaces 13 and 14are not essentially fiat but have some uniformly distributed convexitythen the angles would be measured from one to another of tangents to thetwo surfaces at points substantially equidistant from the ends of thesurfaces 13 and 14 or from one to another of chords subtending thecurves of whatever convexity the surfaces 13 and 14 might have.

As indicated in FIG. 3, the body 11 of the lure has sloping sides 16 and17, so that the bottom 12 is wider than the top at the point where thesection shown in FIG. 3 is taken. It will also be apparent in FIG. 1that the lure body narrows in width in both directions from its point ofmaximum width. It should be noted that the slope of the sides 16 and 17is not of particular significance and in fact the sides might beperpendicular to the surface 12. A lure tends to have a more pleasingappearance by virtue of the sloping sides and they may afford someadvantage in the manufacture of the bodies of the lures, such asfacilitating removal from casting molds. Also, the lure body could be ofuniform width, from end to end, instead of narrowing.

The location of the point of maximum thickness and the angle between thesurfaces 13 and 14, do haveimportant significance, particularly inrelation to the specific gravity of the body. The body is provided withany convenient means, such as a ring 21 for connecting it to a line, andwith any convenient means such as a ring 22 at the other end forsupporting hooks 23. The means for connecting the lure to a line, namelythe ring 21 is at the end nearer to the point of maximum thickness. Asis shown in FIG. 1, the ring 21 may be a closed ring extending throughan aperture 26 at one end of the body 11 of the lure and the ring 22 maybe a closed ring extending through an aperture 27 at the other end ofthe body of the lure. The lure is intended for fishing in deep water,either trolling, or fishing near the bottom at depths to several hundredfeet. Particularly when fishing in a more or less stationary position,sometimes called still-fishing, it is desirable to raise and lower thelure several feet and frequently, such action sometimes being calledjigging, in order to attract fish. With lighter lures the water frictionminimizes or eliminates all vertical or jigging type of action at a linedistance of 100 or more feet of line, when trolling, and whenstill-fishing the lure sinks so slowly due to water friction on the linethat it does not attract fish. A combination of the specific gravityspecified herein and the shape of the lure in terms of diminution inthickness at specified rates from the specified point, has been found toproduce a realistic type of movement of the lure that attracts fish whentrolling. The same combination of specific gravity and form of the lurehave been found to provide a realistic movement of the lure in astill-fishing situation if the lure is lifted off the bottom for adistance of 2-8 feet, as an example, at about the same speed as itfree-falls back to the bottom.

In the matter of hooks, it has been a common practice to associate withfishing lures rigidly interconnected hooks in sets of three, having acommon shank, or having their shanks secured together and with theirbarbed points facing outwardly and spaced apart 120. Such hooks, beingexposed in this way, have a considerable tendency to snag in deep reeffishing conditions. Also, such hooks in sizes adequate to hold largefish, such as sea bass weighing several hundred pounds, have not beenavailable.

In accordance with the present invention, two single hooks 23 areprovided. As is apparent, particularly in FIGS. 1 and 4, each of thehooks 23 has at the end of its shank an aperture or eye 31 which isentered by the ring 22. The eye 31 may be formed by bending the shank ofthe hook into a loop which will receive the ring 22 or, in the case ofvery large hooks it might be a hole drilled through the shank at itsend, which may or may not be flattened, as required, and the eye may bethreaded onto the ring 22 before the ring is closed. In either case, theaxis of the eye 31 preferably lies in the plane of the hook, so that twohooks may be mounted on the ring 22 to rest, one against the other whenfreely suspended as in FIGS. 4 and 5, with the inner faces of theirshanks facing each other so that the barbed points are presented inopposite directions and the curved portions of the hooks rest oneagainst the other. Each hook may have its shank and barbed tip confinedto a plane or the tip may be slightly offset laterally, as indicated inFIG. 4, perhaps to relative to the shank of the hook. The dimension ofthe eye 31 in each hook relative to the diameter of the wire from whichthe ring 22 is formed is preferably such that the hook will hang freelyand slide freely on the ring 22 but will twist only slightly on the axisof the shank relative to the ring, and thus will tend to hang flatagainst the other hook.

With the hooks 23 freely suspended and lying against each other as shownin FIGS. 4 and 5, they have relatively little tendency to snag onobjects encountered in the water. It appears that the shank of eitherone tends to guide the tip of the other away from an object on which thehook might snag. However, when the hooks are seized by a fish theclosing mouth or the interior surfaces of the mouth, pressing upon theshanks of the two hooks 23 as they are in FIG. 5, tends to move theshanks together as indicated in FIG. 6, one hook sliding against theother and their barbed tips being moved outwardly apart until they reachthe ultimate position with the ends of the shanks that are carried bythe ring 22 brought together and the hooks and the barbed tips fullythrust apart, as shown in FIG. 7, to securely engage and retain thefish.

With offset tips and with hooks of the same size, as shown in FIGS. 4-7,it has been found to be possible for the hooks to reach a condition ofsuspension with the tip of each inside the shank of the other, ratherthan outside as in FIGS. 4 and 5. This is a mutually blocking conditionand pressure exerted upon the shanks will not cause the tips to bethrust apart. However, the water currents, and the movement of the lurein a jigging or trolling operation by the angler results in generallycontinuous movement of the hooks and any such blocking of one by theother will be only momentary. The ossibility of the hooks beconunginterlocked, even momentan y, may be overcome by making one of the hooksslightly smaller than the other to the extent that when they are freelysuspended the smaller may pass through the larger. Such an arrangementis shown in FIG. 8, in which the smaller and larger hooks have beendesignated 32 and 33 respectively. These hooks cannot becomeinterlocked, and pressure exerted on the outsides of their shanks, as bythe mouth of a fish, will cause their barbed tips to be thrust apart, inthe same manner as the hooks in FIGS. 5 to 7.

What is claimed is:

1. A fishing lure comprising:

an elongated body having a specific gravity of not less than 10.5 andnot more than 19.3 and having its thickness dimension bounded at one endby a substantially flat surface and having at the opposite end of saidthickness dimension a longitudinal profile comprising two substantiallystraight lines declining toward the plane of said flat surface andforming between said lines an internal included angle of 167 plus orminus 3 with its apex distant from one end of the body by five-twelfthsof the length of the body;

means at the end of the body nearer said apex for connection of the bodyto a line; and

at least one barbed hook carried by the body at the other end thereof.

2. A fishing lure in accordance with claim 1 in which the bodydiminishes in its width dimension toward both of its ends from the pointof its maximum thickness dimension.

3. A fishing lure comprising:

an elongated body having a specific gravity of not less than 10.5 andnot more than 19.3 and having its thickness dimension bounded at one endby a substantially flat surface and bounded at the opposite end of thethickness dimension by boundary lines declining with uniformlydistributed convexity toward said substantially flat surface in oppositedirections of the length of the body from a point distant five-twelfthsof the length of the body from one end thereof such that chords joiningthe extremities of said boundary lines form an included angle of 167plus or minus 3;

means at the end of the body nearer said apex for connection of the bodyto a line; and

at least one barbed hook carried by the body at the other end thereof.

i l l :k

1. A fishing lure comprising: an elongated body having a specificgravity of not less than 10.5 and not more than 19.3 and having itsthickness dimension bounded at one end by a substantially flat surfaceand having at the opposite end of said thickness dimension alongitudinal profile comprising two substantially straight linesdeclining toward the plane of said flat surface and forming between saidlines an internal included angle of 167* plus or minus 3* with its apexdistant from one end of the body by five-twelfths of the length of thebody; means at the end of the body nearer said apex for connection ofthe body to a line; and at least one barbed hook carried by the body atthe other end thereof.
 2. A fishing lure in accordance with claim 1 inwhich the body diminishes in its width dimension toward both of its endsfrom the point of its maximum thickness dimension.
 3. A fishing lurecomprising: an elongated body having a specific gravity of not less than10.5 and not more than 19.3 and having its thickness dimension boundedat one end by a substantially flat surface and bounded at the oppositeend of the thickness dimension by boundary lines declining withuniformly distributed convexity toward said substantially flat surfacein opposite directions of the length of the body from a point distantfive-twelfths of the length of the body from one end thereof such thatchords joining the extremities of said boundary lines form an includedangle of 167* plus or minus 3* ; means at the end of the body nearersaid apex for connection of the body to a line; and at least one barbedhook carried by the body At the other end thereof.